determination

I was editing a few pictures from the weekend when I found this series of "K" during field. I couldn't resist making a storyboard. Isn't he just the cutest kid?! I was amazed by him all weekend as he participated in swimming, track, field and archery. This is his first competition and he did great! He is only 7 and is on Troy's track team so I will have the opportunity in the years to come to watch him get better and better at sports, which is always so much fun. He was so focused and determined before each event and I think the first picture really captures that.

(make sure you click on the picture to see a larger version)



Quote reads: determination--every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.

I told you he was cute!

Desert Challenge--Track

I wanted to get these pictures up earlier, but I have been trying to recoop after a LONG and HOT weekend. Desert Challenge turned out great! Everything ran very smoothly and the athletes were amazing even though they had to deal with 95 degree heat in April. Ridiculous I tell you. Of course, on Monday is was overcast and a lot cooler. Isn't that how it always works?!

I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone that came out and supported the athletes. I wish more people would have come because it is really an amazing experience. There will be another competition at ASU June 12-15 so put it on your calendars early so that you can be there.

First up is track. Here are few of my favorites from the night.

Troy so badly wanted this picture and after disappointing him last year I am happy to say that I captured it this year. This is the 100m invitational.






Be sure to check back in the next few days as I show my favorites from field, swimming and weightlifting!

Desert Challenge

(click on picture to make larger)

I want to invite all of my blog readers out there that are local to come join us this Friday and Saturday, April 21-22 for a swim and track meet at ASU. Troy will be competing Saturday night from 5 to 9 in the 100m, 200m, 400m and the 4x100m relay. Bring your picnic dinner and enjoy some great races. There will be many elite athletes competing from around the country and internationally. There will be athletes with various types of disabilities, including amputees, wheelchairs, dwarfs, cerebral palsy and other physical disabilities. These athletes train hard (Troy trains 5 days a week, usually 2x per day) and are sure to impress you! If you know anyone with a disability let them know about this event so that they can come watch and then maybe get involved in athletics in the future. It will change their lives!

This is a regional competition that will help athletes get their needed times to compete in the Paralympic Trials that will also be held at ASU in June. Those winning at that event will then move on to the Paralympics in Beijing, China in September.

I will be there taking pictures so be sure to stop by and say hello. For those of you that can't make it, I will be posting pictures next week. If you live close and can make it I promise that you will enjoy yourself! Bring the kids--they will think that it is the coolest thing ever!

Also, Arizona Disabled Sports is always looking for great sponsors so if you are interested give them a call at 480.644.5702 or email me at jdavisphoto@gmail.com. Hope to see you this weekend!

My Kiddos

Just wanted to share a few fun pics of my kids that I took while we were in UT visiting family.

So Brigham now has a "cheese face" that he does whenever I pull out the camera. He looks stinkin' cute, but I really do despise the whole "cheese" look because it is so unnatural. Oh well, what do you do?!



Brigham could seriously swing for hours. He LOVES it to say the least. Luckily he has the greatest big sister that is so willing to push him. I love that they are such good friends.



For those of you that know my daughter, you know that she is TERRIFIED of animals and even that is an understatement. So this picture of her holding a bunny is somewhat shocking to me. After spending several days around her cousins bunnies she finally decided that she was going to be brave and play with them and even pick one up! I can hardly believe my eyes even now looking at her holding this bunny. I had to run and grab the camera to capture this amazing moment. Maybe there is a little hope for her!

Bribery at its finest...

For the past several months--OK maybe longer than that--Brooklyn has decided that she needs to sleep in our room right in between us. Annoying! Not only that, she wakes us up screaming, crying, kicking and trying to find anywhere she can to potty (yes, she has opened up the fridge looking for the bathroom, climbed up on a regular chair and even tried going in the backyard). After MANY nights of waking up to her Troy and I had had ENOUGH. SO my brilliant husband came up with a plan--If Brooklyn sleeps in her room for 5 nights IN A ROW without waking up mom or dad then she gets to choose something fun to do. BRILLIANT I tell you. Bedtime fights have gone way down, not eliminated, but much better and she has not come in our room since we started this! Heaven! Last time she choose to go to the movie theater--something we rarely do because they just aren't good in movies--and this time she choose to have a "Girl's Night" and go get manicures, pedicures and ice cream. I am loving this too (gives me an excuse for Troy to keep Brigham and go out and have some fun with the girls--it's a win all around). Anyways, yesterday we were driving in the car and Brooklyn was talking about how she wanted to show everyone her pretty nails with flowers so to avoid going to everyone's houses we compromised that I would take some pictures and put them on the computer. So here she is with her beautiful nails!
(Cassie--make sure you show Bryson because Brooklyn really wanted him to see them too! She cracks me up!)

Now I just need to figure out some bribe to get her to stop whining! Any ideas???

Squeezable!!

I am finally posting these pictures. I'm way behind with the sneak peek since we were out of town, etc. I am so sorry, Dustie!

Isn't "B" just so squeezable?! He is THE best baby ever. Usually the 2-6 month range is such a hard age to photogragh, but man I could have photographed him all day--he was happy the entire time. Made my job a breeze!

I couldn't decide if I liked this picture better in color or black and white so here it is two ways. What do you think?




I don't know what it is about this picture, but I am in LOVE with it. It just makes me smile for some reason.



I couldn't leave out all B's older brothers and sister. It was tough getting the four of them in one picture, but I think that mom will be happy with this one. I don't know what she was doing behind me, but from the looks of it I was sure missing out on something.



Anyways, I could have posted way more of these cuties, but I want to keep mom and dad in suspense for a little longer. I will be done soon, I promise!

My Turn...Finally!!!

We took a little family vacation to UT this past weekend to visit Troy's brother, Reese. We had a wonderful time and are so grateful that they let us overtake their house.

While we were in UT I took the opportunity to get our family pictures taken from a wonderful photographer, Angie, from Simplicity Photography. We had an urban shoot in the coolest location. I was totally jealous that there isn't somewhere around me that looks like this. And the best part is, the location is just outside her studio. I am drooling just thinking about it! Anyways, my kids were HORRIBLE so all of you out there don't feel bad when your kids won't cooperate. I understand your pain. We were all freezing--it was probably 50 degrees outside, but when you are from AZ that is COLD. I couldn't find any cute winter clothes because in UT this is warm, so we were braving the cold temps in t-shirts. My poor kids thought that they were going to die or something, but anything for a cute picture right???

Luckily, Angie was very patient with my crying children and Brooklyn LOVED her assistant Michelle because she gave her piggy back rides the whole time. Troy is a little worried that we didn't get anything good (just as most dads are when they leave a shoot ), but I have complete faith that we will have many shots to choose from. In fact, she posted a few pictures of my cute little man on her blog. They are to die for! I already have plans for the first picture to be put above his bed in at least a 20x30. Won't that look amazing!

I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures! Now I know how the rest of you feel when you are waiting for your pictures. It is torture!

Sweet Baby, Amazing Parents

I am finally feeling better and was able to go up to the hospital again to see my cute nephew, Korbyn. He is doing great and is all the way up to 2 lbs 11 oz now. Way to go, Korbyn! Well, we wanted to get pictures of his mom and dad holding him, but he wasn't up for it tonight because there was too much going on in the NICU. Maybe in a week or two we can try it again. He did not like the lights on, but I got a few shots of him. Enjoy!

I know there are a lot of pictures here, but this little guy has a fan club far and wide that want to see him and we don't want to disappoint them.



Here he is trying to show off how strong he is getting!







I love this picture, definitely far from perfect technically, but I love the story that this picture tells. Korbyn could not ask for better parents, they are both so strong. Here they are, you can tell they are full of worry and love for this sweet little baby. They spend their days and nights by his side. They are learning things they never thought they would need to -- Mom looked like an old pro messing with all the monitors -- and through it all they remain so calm and positive. We can all learn a lot from the two of you. You are amazing parents already!